T.J. Warren led N.C. State with 20 points and scored the winning basket, but he had plenty of help Saturday

RALEIGH – Needing a basket with the game on the line in overtime, N.C. State reverted back to a familiar strategy Saturday. It gave the ball to star forward T.J. Warren and got out of his way.

It’s a formula that has helped Warren lead the ACC in scoring at 22.2 points per game. But it hasn’t always been conducive to the team’s success as a whole.

In this instance, it paid off.

Warren put the ball on the floor, attacked the basket and scored from close range with 6.2 seconds remaining to give the Wolfpack an 80-78 victory against Georgia Tech at PNC Arena.

That was encouraging in itself, especially since State had to battle back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to pull out the badly needed victory. Perhaps even more important is that it was one of only a few times in the game that the Wolfpack hopped up onto Warren’s shoulders and asked him to carry the load.

If not for the newfound balance discovered in Monday night’s come-from-behind win against Maryland – a game Warren missed with a sprained left ankle – the 6-foot-8 sophomore would never have been in a position to take and make the game-winning shot.

“Obviously T.J. made some big baskets, but … it’s important for our team to get offensive production from a lot of different guys,” Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried said. “For us to become really good, that’s what has to happen.”

State (13-7, 3-4 ACC) was still a long way from being “really good” against an opponent that has struggled to score, let alone win since the start of conference play, but it wasn’t because of its offense.

The Wolfpack shot 53.3 percent from the floor, its best performance since making 58 percent against East Carolina on Dec. 21. And while Warren led the scoring with 20 points, he was only one of many major contributors to an offense that featured much more balance – and because of it, much more flow.

It bodes well for the rest of the season that State’s complementary players were just as assertive with Warren back in the lineup as they were with him sitting on the sideline in street clothes.

“It’s not fun playing without T.J., but everybody just came together and jelled (Monday),” said Lewis, whose back-to-back 3-pointers and aggressiveness in Gottfried’s rare zone defense midway through the second half ignited a 15-5 run that turned the game around for State.

“We had great teamwork today. We know what people on this team are capable of.”

For his part, Warren seemed to appreciate the offensive help.

The majority of his points came off movement and in the natural rhythm of the offense. The others came on offense rebounds. There were only a handful of times in which he forced jumpers or went one-on-one in an effort to create opportunities on his own.

“When our guys are making shots, it definitely takes the pressure off me,” Warren said. “Those guys are playing good. I know they can keep it up the rest of the season.”